Description
A quick, creamy, dairy-free Vegan Avocado Pesto Pasta made with avocado, basil, spinach, garlic, cashews, and lemon. Ready in 15 minutes and delicious warm or chilled.
Ingredients
8 ounces dry pasta of choice
1 large ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh basil
1 cup thawed frozen spinach or 2 cups fresh spinach
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup raw unsalted cashews
2 tablespoons lemon juice, from 1/2 large lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cherry tomatoes, for serving
Instructions
1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve a little pasta cooking water before draining.
2. While the pasta cooks, add the avocado, olive oil, basil, spinach, garlic, cashews, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper to a food processor or high-powered blender.
3. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
4. If the sauce feels too thick, gradually blend in small amounts of reserved pasta water or extra olive oil until creamy.
5. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
6. Toss the pesto with the cooked pasta until evenly coated.
7. Drizzle with a little olive oil if desired, then serve with sliced cherry tomatoes.
8. Enjoy warm or chilled.
Notes
Thin the pesto with reserved pasta cooking water or additional olive oil if needed.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
Freeze the pesto for up to 3 months and thaw it in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before using.
Any pasta shape works well.
Frozen spinach can be replaced with fresh spinach.
Raw cashews can be replaced with pine nuts if preferred.
The pesto also works well as a dip or spread.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Blend
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 of 4 servings
- Calories: 416
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 328 mg
- Fat: 19 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 52 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg